once upon time in auburn there was a gal who decided to take the plunge into bringing a puppy into her world, as a college student. in july of 2000, this gal decided a golden retriever puppy would be the right choice. she picked up savannah on a sunday afternoon, from a family with some land and litter of goldens. the puppy came home with her that day and the start of a new life for both, began.
much to her parents chagrin, she and savannah grew together. from being the "fuzzy 'nus" as gary called her, from curling up next to her each night, from chewing on one, yes ONE thing as a puppy {a pair of flip flops. just one thing was simply amazing}. she became her owner's best friend and running partner. she enjoyed trips to the tech park, to the lake, and to chewacla. she LOVED retrieving ... bringing it back was, hmmmnn, okay. a tennis ball was her favorite toy. savannah grew that year as her owner was a typical senior at auburn, thoroughly enjoying life in its current stage and looking forward to the next stop.
next stop: savannah, georgia
both savannah and her momma loved their new digs. savannah continued to sleep with her momma, protect her as she now lived alone. savannah just enjoyed life herself. she met some fun friends, went camping, and swimming on the beach and on the marsh {which she loved, she had no problem being as dirty as possible as long as water was involved}. unquestionably, savannah had two favorite places: in any river, pond, lake or body of water; and, curled up asleep on something comfy {preferably a bed, but the carpet would do}.
next stop: birmingham, alabama
she liked this new abode. she was again a wonderful companion and protector. her momma travelled a lot to alexander city; she always enjoyed the ride and relished seeing gary. water remained a favorite, as it would her entire life. in birmingham she decided to explore and run off downtown a bit. this was extremely scary for her momma and for gary. thank you alabama pet registry and allison, for ensuring her safe return home!
next stop: 1007 stage road, auburn, alabama
what a fun place! savannah loved it here ... the yard, the house, the neighborhood, you name it. and when she moved here, a new doggie came to live with her, shelby the sheltie. she wasn't quite sure how she felt about shelby, a bit indifferent. savannah did NOT like having to sleep on the floor now that her momma was married to that wonderful gary guy. however, she became used to it {but secretly loved the times when she was allowed to get on the bed!} as she loved gary's company. the years brought several foster dogs, more camping trips, many car rides, many treats {real bones were her favorite} and lots and lots of love. then another new dog came into the family, another golden named bricks. a playmate! savannah was indifferent about {or didn't like} most dogs, but she truly loved bricks. they became fast and very good friends. suffice it to say she tolerated shelby, but bricks was her best doggie friend, and this remained so her entire life. the next year, a new person came into the house, a baby. what in the world was this creature? she didn't really know, but she let him do whatever he wanted ... pull her hair, her ears, her tail, get in her water bowl, you name it. savannah was such a patient and loving dog to the baby and later on, to his baby brother. it didn't hurt that these boys dropped a lot of food on the floor, which she gladly cleaned up ... ahem, most gladly.
next stop: 2631 beehive road, auburn, alabama
safe to surmise that savannah's first thought was, "we now live at that place where we have been swimming and playing the last several years? wow! woo hoo!" run and play, swim and retrieve, roll and find varmints, cool off and rest in the house, she did. even at twelve, she had more life and pep than her sister and brother. she was still a spark plug, but she also adored her sleep and being indoors. she started having some health problems and was just not acting liek herself in october/november. then around Christmastime, she started having issues of losing use of the back half of her body, most likely from a tumor along her spine. after several conversations with and trips to our vet; conversations with our sister and brother in law; many, many questions, much thought and prayer, savannah went to heaven on december 29th, 2012. we were fortunate to spend the last night of her life with her, and to sleep right next to her. we were able to love on her and just be with her in this crazy state of health that she was in - and for that we are so very grateful. we were able to hold her head, her paw and kiss her sweetness as she drifted off to sleep. we were able to bury her the next day here, at our little ponderosa. the boys, gary and I were all able to be a part of this memorial to her, and to thank her for the amazing opportunity we had - to be a part of her life for twelve whole years. and how blessed am I, that savannah and I shared so many pivotal points of our lives, together.
one of my favorite {and there are many!} pictures of savannah is the one above. she frolicked in the cold weather and was such a frisky little puppy, even in her older years. gary made a month by month flip calendar for me as a gift for the year 2010. he chose this as the picture for december of that year. I thought it a perfect tribute for sweet savannah. our red dog. radicchio. big one. banana.
we miss her dearly. each and every day.
to quote from cynthia rylant's children's book, "dog heaven"
{sent to us by another golden lover, suzanne}:
"dogs in dog heaven may stay as long as they like and this can mean forever. they will be there when old friends show up. they will be there at the door. angel dogs."
much to her parents chagrin, she and savannah grew together. from being the "fuzzy 'nus" as gary called her, from curling up next to her each night, from chewing on one, yes ONE thing as a puppy {a pair of flip flops. just one thing was simply amazing}. she became her owner's best friend and running partner. she enjoyed trips to the tech park, to the lake, and to chewacla. she LOVED retrieving ... bringing it back was, hmmmnn, okay. a tennis ball was her favorite toy. savannah grew that year as her owner was a typical senior at auburn, thoroughly enjoying life in its current stage and looking forward to the next stop.
next stop: savannah, georgia
both savannah and her momma loved their new digs. savannah continued to sleep with her momma, protect her as she now lived alone. savannah just enjoyed life herself. she met some fun friends, went camping, and swimming on the beach and on the marsh {which she loved, she had no problem being as dirty as possible as long as water was involved}. unquestionably, savannah had two favorite places: in any river, pond, lake or body of water; and, curled up asleep on something comfy {preferably a bed, but the carpet would do}.
next stop: birmingham, alabama
she liked this new abode. she was again a wonderful companion and protector. her momma travelled a lot to alexander city; she always enjoyed the ride and relished seeing gary. water remained a favorite, as it would her entire life. in birmingham she decided to explore and run off downtown a bit. this was extremely scary for her momma and for gary. thank you alabama pet registry and allison, for ensuring her safe return home!
next stop: 1007 stage road, auburn, alabama
what a fun place! savannah loved it here ... the yard, the house, the neighborhood, you name it. and when she moved here, a new doggie came to live with her, shelby the sheltie. she wasn't quite sure how she felt about shelby, a bit indifferent. savannah did NOT like having to sleep on the floor now that her momma was married to that wonderful gary guy. however, she became used to it {but secretly loved the times when she was allowed to get on the bed!} as she loved gary's company. the years brought several foster dogs, more camping trips, many car rides, many treats {real bones were her favorite} and lots and lots of love. then another new dog came into the family, another golden named bricks. a playmate! savannah was indifferent about {or didn't like} most dogs, but she truly loved bricks. they became fast and very good friends. suffice it to say she tolerated shelby, but bricks was her best doggie friend, and this remained so her entire life. the next year, a new person came into the house, a baby. what in the world was this creature? she didn't really know, but she let him do whatever he wanted ... pull her hair, her ears, her tail, get in her water bowl, you name it. savannah was such a patient and loving dog to the baby and later on, to his baby brother. it didn't hurt that these boys dropped a lot of food on the floor, which she gladly cleaned up ... ahem, most gladly.
next stop: 2631 beehive road, auburn, alabama
safe to surmise that savannah's first thought was, "we now live at that place where we have been swimming and playing the last several years? wow! woo hoo!" run and play, swim and retrieve, roll and find varmints, cool off and rest in the house, she did. even at twelve, she had more life and pep than her sister and brother. she was still a spark plug, but she also adored her sleep and being indoors. she started having some health problems and was just not acting liek herself in october/november. then around Christmastime, she started having issues of losing use of the back half of her body, most likely from a tumor along her spine. after several conversations with and trips to our vet; conversations with our sister and brother in law; many, many questions, much thought and prayer, savannah went to heaven on december 29th, 2012. we were fortunate to spend the last night of her life with her, and to sleep right next to her. we were able to love on her and just be with her in this crazy state of health that she was in - and for that we are so very grateful. we were able to hold her head, her paw and kiss her sweetness as she drifted off to sleep. we were able to bury her the next day here, at our little ponderosa. the boys, gary and I were all able to be a part of this memorial to her, and to thank her for the amazing opportunity we had - to be a part of her life for twelve whole years. and how blessed am I, that savannah and I shared so many pivotal points of our lives, together.
one of my favorite {and there are many!} pictures of savannah is the one above. she frolicked in the cold weather and was such a frisky little puppy, even in her older years. gary made a month by month flip calendar for me as a gift for the year 2010. he chose this as the picture for december of that year. I thought it a perfect tribute for sweet savannah. our red dog. radicchio. big one. banana.
we miss her dearly. each and every day.
to quote from cynthia rylant's children's book, "dog heaven"
{sent to us by another golden lover, suzanne}:
"dogs in dog heaven may stay as long as they like and this can mean forever. they will be there when old friends show up. they will be there at the door. angel dogs."
